Mileura Widefield Array: Low Frequency Demonstrator

Mileura Widefield Array: Low Frequency Demonstrator

The MWA-LFA is a new telescope planned for construction during the period 2006-2008 on the radio-quiet site in WA, which is proposed the SKA. The telescope will operate in the frequency range 80-300MHz, which is a largely unexplored region of the radio spectrum. The telescope is a partnership between MIT and Harvard in the US and a consortium of Australian universities, ATNF and the Government of WA. The project is being led by MIT, who have invested heavily in the technical design and development of the telescope up to this time. The website is http://web.haystack.mit.edu/arrays/MWA/site/index.html.

Current Activity

During the first 6 months of 2005, the partners have been concentrating on:

(1)  Securing funding to participate in the project. Of the 4 major funding lines, 2 are currently secure (Govt of WA and ATNF), one is under consideration (NSF) and one will be submitted in the next month (ARC-LIEF).

(2)  Constructing the Early Deployment tiles. The first tile was constructed on site in March 2005, with a further 2 scheduled for April 2005. Deployment of the first tile was very successful with 1Tb of data being collected. This provides the first characterisation of the site, suggesting that it is indeed very radio quiet.

(3)  R&D of the main components of the telescope. A substantial amount of work has already been completed by MIT, but additional work in continuing on the design of the backend.

(4)  Scientific objectives. There is continued work on simulating the potential signals which might be detected from the telescope, particularly for the Epoch of Reionisation experiment.

Current Operating Costs and Funding

The Australian partners are covering the cost of their early engagement from their own internal funds. Significant funding (~$70k) has been contributed by the University of Melbourne for the early deployment. ANU, ATNF and Curtin University are funding their own participation, which involves travel to the site and accommodation, and staff resources.

Future Facilities

The rate of progress for the construction of the telescope will depend substantially on the flow of funds. If the funding from the ARC and NSF are secured, then the timescale for completion of the telescope will be the end of 2007. However if this funding is not secured, it will take longer to build the facility.

Future Role

The LFD will be a ‘campaign-based’ science facility, not a national facility. This means that individual groups will need to obtain funding to use the telescope for particular experiments. The primary science projects at this stage are detection and mapping of the epoch of reionisation, heliospheric science and detection of radio transients.

Future Funding

The Australian partners will submit an ARC LIEF grant in 2005 and 2006 for a total of $1m. This will be matched by a substantial investment by ATNF and WA Govt of common funding for the LFD and xNTD. The US partners has requested US$4.5m for the project.